Lupo
This story was inspired by Wolfiethezwolf, whose favorite character in my other story is Lupo. It's a spin-off from my original fanfiction: Cardfight! Vanguard Fanfic. I hope you enjoy! Chapter One: From New York to Tokyo= From New York to Tokyo Lupo Sometimes the hardest part isn't letting go but rather learning to start over. This was the exact thought that Lupo had when his parents told him that they were moving the family to Tokyo. Of course, Lupo could've easily stayed in New York by himself, but he couldn't abandon his little brother, who he was extremely protective of. He didn't want his brother to be upset at the thought of his older brother staying in the one place that they grew up in together. It was hard to hear the news and see the excited look on his parent's faces when they told him about his father's job promotion. His father was a journalist who had been struggling to write new articles every day. One day, he was inspired by his son Anthony, who had suffered from some sort of kidney failure when he was only four years old. Lupo's father had agreed to give up one of his kidneys to save his son, hoping and praying that his son would live. Ten years later, his fourteen-year old brother Anthony was still alive and healthier then ever. The editor of the newspaper was so moved by the story that he had called up one of his buddies in Tokyo who ran a very successful newspaper publishing company and gave him the story to read. The editor was called back by his friend a few hours later and was told to send Lupo's father to Tokyo, because he wanted Lupo's father to be the Vice President of the entire company. Even though Lupo was extremely happy for his father, he didn't want to leave his home in New York. The crowded streets, the constant flow of traffic, the amazing sites, were all a part of his home and he was afraid to let it all go. But I have to. I have to make my parents happy, even if it's at the cost of my own happiness. So there he was, a few hours later, in the back of a crammed bus filled with people and luggage. On the way to the bus, Lupo and his brother had argued about who'd get the window seat, and Anthony had won. Stupid rock, paper, scissors... He grumbled to himself as he sat in the middle of his parents who were both occupied in reading a magazine. "How many hours do we have left of this?" He asked his father. "Mmmm." His father looked up at him distractedly. "A few more I think." Lupo groaned in frustration. "I'm never going to get out of this..." Lupo turned to look at his brother, who was busy playing some sort of dragon game on his iPad. "Hey Anthony, let me use that for a second." Lupo practically pleaded to his brother. Anthony looked up from his device and stuck out his tongue mockingly to his older brother. "Not a chance bro." Anthony smiled at him. "Please?" Lupo whined. "Nope, sorry, I just got one of the best dragons in this game." Lupo sighed. "Which one?" He asked, trying to be interested in what his brother was doing. "The wolf dragon!!" Anthony's eyes gleamed with excitement. "It came out on March 29th!!" "Your birthday?" Lupo asked. "Yeah, I can't believe it!" His brother was staring in awe at the screen. "That's so cool." Lupo replied, gaining a new interest in the game. "What's the game called?" "It's called Dragonvale." Anthony replied, looking up from the screen at his brother to answer before he went back to tapping the screen. "Hey Anthony, why don't you let me try?" "Sure, one second, just let me-" Anthony was tapping something on the screen before it went black. "Aww man!" He complained. "My iPad died!" "Are you serious?" Lupo asked, disbelief in his voice. Just as I was about to get it, it dies. Figures. "This is going to be a looong ride." Lupo lay his head back in the seat and closed his eyes, trying not to concentrate on the few hours left. "Cheer up son, we're almost there." He opened his eyes and looked at his father. He sighed, "I know, but still.. this is agonizing.." "Lupo, sweetie, why don't you look at those cards you're so obsessed with?" His mother asked him. "Ma! I'm not obsessed, and those cards are part of a card game called Vanguard." She shrugged. "To me, it's just a silly game." He shook his head disapprovingly at his mother. He didn't bother trying to argue with her. Instead, he pulled out his deck and shuffled through it. The Aqua Force deck. He smiled as he looked at each card. These cards hold a lot of great memories for me. Anthony, too. He glanced at his brother who was staring out of the window, a bored expression on his face. "Hey Anthony, when we get on the plane, do you want to battle me in Vanguard?" His brother tore his gaze away from the cloudy sky outside, his expression full of joy. "Really?" Lupo laughed. "Yeah, it'll be fun." His brother's face suddenly lit up in determination. "You're going down." "Nu-uh, you're going down, my Aqua Force Deck will beat any deck of yours any day." Lupo countered. "Oh really? Do you want to test that theory?" Anthony's eyes lit up at the prospect of a challenge. "Boys." They both swiveled around to face their mother. "Yes mom?" They asked in unison. "Can you keep it quiet? Your father is trying to sleep." Their mother pointed to their father, who was gently dozing in his seat, the magazine he was reading resting against his chest. "Sorry mom." They both hung their heads in mock shame. Lupo glanced up at his mother a second later, who wore a look of amusement and tried to hold back her laughter. "You boys are too much." She shook her head in mock disapproval. "But that's why you love us right mom?" Lupo grinned. He watched his mother sigh. "Yup." "Hey mom, when we get to Tokyo, can you buy me a pet wolf?" Anthony grinned. "Why would you want one of those?" "'Cause they're awesome?!" He said, like it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Ma, if we get a wolf, can we name it Wolfie?" Lupo asked, his eyes pleading. His mother's eyebrows shot up at the question. "Sorry to burst your dreams boys, but wolves can't be found in Tokyo." "So, why can't we get one shipped to our new house?" Their mother sighed. "Boys, we can't get a wolf." She paused, in thought. "Or a dog for that matter." "How come!?" Anthony whined a little too loudly. "Anthony shhh!" His mother reprimanded, pointing again to her husband right in the middle of the two brothers. "Sorry mom." Anthony whispered, looking a little hurt. "It's okay sweetie, but we can't get a dog because there will be no one at home to take care of it." Anthony pouted. "But mom-" "No buts mister, you know the rules." She lightly reprimanded him "Yes mom." Anthony hung his head. A moment later, Lupo watched his mother curiously. She looked exhausted, and had dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept in three days, and she probably hadn't, knowing how hard it was for his mother to move too. I'm proud of you dad, I really am. Lupo turned to glance at his father, who was still sleeping. But sometimes I wish you didn't move us across the entire world. He knew that he was making it a bigger deal then it needed to be, but he couldn't help himself. "Mom, are you okay?" He asked his mother a moment later, who had gone back to reading her magazine. "I'm fine sweetie." His mother stared at him with a shocked expression. "Why, is everything okay?" "Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine mom." He waved off her concern. "I'm just worried about you not getting enough sleep." She smiled at him. "I know you worry about me not getting enough rest, but I'm okay Lupo. Okay?" His mother sounded reassuring. "Alright." He sighed, a hint of worry still in his voice. "We'll be there soon." His mother took one of his empty hands in his and squeezed it. "Everything's going to be fine Lupo." "How do you know that mom?" He asked. "I just know." She shrugged and smiled sheepishly. Four hours. That is how long it took for the bus ride to be over. Four seconds was how long it took Lupo to become bored again. Instead of thinking negatively about the move, he tried to think of anything positive. New schools. New life, where I can start over. He brushed aside memories of his past childhood that threatened to come back. Don't think about that. He gritted his teeth in an effort to stem the flow of memories. He took slow, deep breaths and concentrated on the fading city skyline instead. My home, as quickly as it was given to me, it was snatched away. "Lupo sweetie." His mother called to him. "Hunny, we're here." "What?" he asked, shaking his head from his thoughts. "I was saying," his mother explained patiently. "That we're here, at the airport, and your father and brother have already left." He quickly got up from his seat, regretting it an instant later when he found that he was cramped from sitting so long. He groaned in pain and his mother laughed at him. "You'll be fine, now let's go sweetie." She smiled at him and he smiled back, grabbing his luggage and carrying it out of the bus. He followed his mother to the entrance of the airport, staring at it grimly. "This is it." His mother clapped her hands together excitedly and he couldn't help but let go of his previous anger of moving. "Yup." He replied, and started to haul his bags through the doors. This is it. He sighed as he walked in. He sat next to the window on the plane, his brother on his left, and their parents sitting in the back of them. He watched the clouds drifting slowly through the sky, wishing that the plane ride was over. Staring at the mass expanse of clouds and blue sky, his eyes started to droop, and he shortly fell asleep a few seconds later, giving into all of the exhaustion he felt. He woke up a few hours later, to someone shaking his shoulders. "Lupo, wake up." His brother's voice said. "Mmmm." He protested, and tried to go back to sleep. "Lupo!" Anthony's voice rose. "Get up! We're here in Tokyo." Is he serious? We're here? Lupo's eyes widened with shock and he stared up at his brother, half-awake and half-asleep. "We are?" His voice was groggy with sleep. "Yep." Anthony answered, looking out the window and pointing. "Look for yourself." Lupo followed his brother's finger and stared out of the window. "Wow." He stared in awe at where they were. "It's beautiful." He said, before he could realize that he just complimented the place that he was supposed to hate. The sky was a mixture of gray and blue, the day slowly turning into night. He saw the distant city skyline, tall buildings reaching towards the sky, their bright red lights illuminating the darkening sky. This is my new home. He thought, and for the first time since he learned that he was moving, he actually smiled. He felt a pang of sadness as he compared Tokyo to New York. It almost looks like New York, from the tall buildings to the bright illuminating lights that lit up the night sky. He also realized another thing, I never played Vanguard with Anthony... Regret tore through him and he looked at his brother. "Anthony, about that Vanguard battle-" His little brother cut him off with a grin. "It's okay, we'll battle some other time." Wary crossed Lupo's face. "You sure?" His brother nodded happily. "Definitely." he paused. "Besides, I would've won anyways." Lupo glared at him, causing his brother to laugh. Lupo grinned at his brother, it was always so hard to stay mad at him. "Boys, are you coming?" Their mother asked them, standing next to their father, their bags in their hands. "Yup." Both boys said in unison. "Ready as we'll ever be mom." Lupo added, getting up from his seat and carefully removing his bags from the storage unit above their seats. "Good." His father said, and smiled at his son with pride in his eyes. Lupo smiled back and nodded to his father. He and his brother walked up to their parents, and together, they all exited the plane. The ride to their new apartment was eventful to say the least. They had to drive through most of the city to get to their house, and Lupo stared out of the car window, he and his brother basking at the various lit-up buildings, seeing restaurants and shopping areas, the streets crowded with people. "Look at that one!" Anthony had pointed to a building called Card Capital, where they saw a sign saying: All Vanguard players welcome! "We have to check that place out as soon as possible." Anthony said, and Lupo nodded in agreement, watching as the building faded away into the night, his eyes locked on the place where he had seen the building, now out of sight. They reached their house in another few minutes, and were dropped off. They all stared in awe at the house, trying to comprehend its size. "Well, we aren't in New York anymore, that's for sure." Lupo joked. "You're telling me." Anthony replied, before he dropped his bags onto the driveway and ran to the front door of the house, trying to open the locked door. His father chuckled before he followed Anthony to the front door, albeit slower then his son. He unlocked the door and Anthony rushed inside. Lupo and his mother laughed and followed Anthony inside. Lupo's father was in the kitchen, staring around at the expansive space. He took a quick glance, taking in the large island in the middle of the kitchen, the white granite illuminating the darker cabinets. "Nice." He commented, before he saw Anthony run upstairs, presumably to the bedrooms. He followed his brother down the hallway, past three empty rooms, and took a right turn into a medium-sized room. "This is all mine." Anthony grinned to himself. "I'm sure it is buddy." Lupo walked into the empty room, walking to the large window that overlooked the city below. "Look at this closet! It's huge!" Anthony's voice echoed from the right, and Lupo turned to see his little brother standing in a walk-in closet, the size of his old bedroom. "Holy-" "Lupo, watch it." His mom entered the room before he could finish, and he smiled at her sheepishly. "Sorry mom, it's just... look at the size of his closet!" Lupo pointed to the closet, and made his way to it. "I hope I get a closet as big as this." Lupo said, with a hint of envy. "Don't worry son, your room will have plenty of space, just like your brother's room." His father popped his head into the closet. "Nice closet Anthony." His father smiled. "I know right?!" Anthony's voice was full of excitement. "I have some good news." Their father said. They both turned to look at him. "The school that Anthony will be attending is only ten minutes away, and," His father continued, "The hospital is only fifteen minutes away for you Lupo." He still wants me to get a career in medicine? Dang it, I thought I left that behind in New York after I graduated from college. He hid his disappointment and nodded to his father. "Thanks dad, I really appreciate it." His father smiled kindly at him. I just wish that you wouldn't force me to do something that I'm not interested in. He sighed and walked out of his brother's closet, meeting his mother's gaze. She gave him a knowing look but didn't say anything. She knows I don't want to become a nurse or a doctor but I can't disappoint my father. "Come on sweetheart, let's go check out the rest of the house." His mother led the way out of Anthony's new room, and carefully maneuvered through the rest of the house. It had three master bathrooms, and a guest bathroom. The house as a whole had four bedrooms, a master bedroom for their parents, two slightly smaller rooms for the boys, and a guest bedroom. The three bathrooms were attached to the bedrooms. The hallway that contained the bedrooms also had a staircase leading to the living room, and beside that held the large expanse of a living room, and the kitchen. There was another staircase at the entrance of the house that held a newly refurbished basement, which had soft white carpeting and a cozy fireplace. Off to the side of the house, was a medium-sized sunroom and a three-car garage. Lupo had never been in a house this large, not even his parent's apartment was as big as this house, even though their apartment was decent sized. I think I'm going to like it here. It took a long time to unpack the essential items to stock the house, never mind all of the other stuff that their old apartment contained. You never know how much stuff you really have in your house until you have to pack it all up in boxes. Lupo sighed as he put the finishing touches to his room. He had a queen-sized bed with an olive green comforter next to a large window that overlooked the front of the house. Light shone through the window and reflected off of the pane, making his room seem brighter. In a corner of his room, he had a large mahogany desk that held his laptop, a printer, and a bunch of his Vanguard cards, scattered all over the desk. His room had polished hardwood floors, and as he walked to his desk, he stared at the small bookshelf right beside the desk that he had filled with all sorts of books from over the years. Even though he'd never admit it to anyone, he loved to read. Shaking his head, his gaze swept across his room, and with a final shrug of his shoulders, walked out of his room, shutting the door behind him and headed downstairs to the kitchen. "School tomorrow eh sweetie?" Lupo's mom said in way of greeting. "Yup." He said. Don't remind me... His first day at the hospital was eventful to say the least. He had gone in, expecting a boring day, but he had been quickly assigned to a patient. her name was Emerilla, and she had suffered some minor bruises and cuts around her arms, and a blow to the back of her head. He was a little nervous to see her again after the great first impression he had made with her (note the sarcasm), and he wasn't very eager to repeat the punch he had gotten in the face from Kai. He scowled when he thought back to it before he shook his head. I have to do this. He took a deep breath and headed into her room, her chart in his hand. "Hi, I'm Lupo, and I'll be your nurse for this evening." he informed her politely. "You're a nurse?" He heard her ask, her face a mixture of surprise and shock. He wanted to laugh, but held it in. "Well, yeah." He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "I'm almost done with all of my training." His voice was full of pride. He glanced at her one more time, trying to assess her features for any bruises or strange marks. When he found none that were visible, he walked over to the patient description board and expertly wrote his name. "I like your handwriting." He heard her say. "Thanks." He replied, and went over to her IV to check for anything that was out of order. "Looks good." He declared. "How're you feeling?" He directed his gaze back to her. ___ -To Be Continued..